Fiber spinning apparatus



Sept. 23, 1943. v. ALDABA 2,330,537

FIBER SPINNING APPARATUS Filed July 18, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 28, 1943. v. ALDABA 3 FIBER SPINNING APPARATUS Filed July 18, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 V/CE/V 75 HA DAB/4,

Sept 28, 1943. v. ALDABA 2,330,537

FIBER SPINNING APPARATUS Filed July 18, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 A gwoq/wfm, V/CE-NTE- Amman,

Sept. 28, 1943. v, LbABA 2,330,537

FIBER SPINNING APPARATUS Filed July 18, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Sept. 28, 1943 oNlTEo STAT Es PATENT] OFFlCE FIBER SPINNING APPARATUS Vicente Aldaba, Mata, r. 1.; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application July 1 1941 ,.Serial No. 403,030

7 Claims. (01. 57-28) This invention relates to a spinning apparatus for various fibers, for instance, manila hemp, sisal and maguey.

It is particularly aimed to provide a novel, flcient and durable machine which dispenses with k the drawing operation incidental to the spinning of the fibers and reduces to a minimum'the mechanisms or instrumentalities needed to spin the yarn.

It is further aimed to provide such a. machine as will grip the fibers at a source of supply, feed the same to a spinner, and then wind'the same, the construction being such that the amo'untfof labor and power incidental to spinning is reduced to a minimum.

The more specific objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the description following taken in connection. with the accompanying drawings illustrating an operative embodiment. I

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view of the apparatus in plan; Figure 2 is a view in side elevationfof the ma,- chine;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the feed- I ing belt;

Figure is an elevation of a modified formv 1 of feeding mechanism; and, I j

Figure 11 is a fragmentary partial ,plan and.

section of the latter. I

Referring specifically to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate like or similar 7 parts throughout the difierent views, attention is called to the fact that the frame ,work'of the apparatus, for the most part, has .been omitted in the interest of clarity, itbeing obvious that the various parts or elements can be mounted or supported in various ways.

Fibrous strands are disposed in parallelism in a as shown, but it may be located over the feed belt, or otherwise, as preferred.

Pickers or grippers N3, of any desired number, are'carried by the flexible belt II and are best detailed in Figures Band 4. Such pickers or grippers comprise plateslQ, which are riveted, at 20, to the belt and which have stationary jaws 2| rising therefrom. Jaws 22 are pivoted, at 23,

to the jaws 2| and such jaws are urged into contact by contractile coil springs, at 24, fastened to laws 22 and plates l9, at'reversely curved terrninals 25 providing sufficient space 26, for reception, gripping and retention of the fibrous strands, as the belt ll moves into and out of the hopper I0. It will be noted thatthe forward end of hopper l0 (Figure 1) is open so as to provide clearance for operation and one wall or part in the hopper, at 21, isso located that it will' be engaged by the outer or free end of trip levers 28, pivoted at 29, to plates I9, and bearing against the jaws 22'at the "opposite side thereof to a spring 24, so as to open the jaws, receive the fibrous strands therein, grip them and convey them in parallelism to each other and to the sides of the belt H. The jaws 22 andlevers 28 will return to normal position under urgency of springs 24 when levers 28 disengage hopper part which is open at the front and rear.

f Belt llis located centrally over and travels in parallelism with the longitudinal axis of a vertically disposed V-shaped aligning trough 30, When the pickers l8,are at the lower run of the belt II and, thus, over the aligning trough 30, the fiber f"strands are released through the contact of the aforesaid levers 28 with an abutment 3| (Figure 2) suitably mounted on one side wall of the align- Disposed in front of v a spinner; generally designated 32, the same havjing' trough3ll. The released fibers thus fall to the bottom'of the trough 30 and are in parallelism longitudinally thereof.

the aligning trough 30 is ing acentrallongitudinal bore 33 located n line with the Junction of the inclined walls or the allgningtrough-sofas to receive fibers from the lattenguidedby a funnel-shapedor flared space 34'at the rear end thereof. Spinner 32 is journaled in a bearing 35 at a reduced portion 36 hopper, generally designated l0. Suchiibers are usually handled in bundles as they come from a decorticating machine or as it is bundled by the retters. A hopper I0 is arranged in-line'with an endless feeding belt H, of suitable flexible material, which traverses pulleys l2 and I3, carried by shafts It and [5, respectively, Journaled in suitable bearings l6 and I1, respectively. Hopper ill is located at one end of the feed belt ll,

thereof. "Adjacent the front, spinner 32 is enlarged into-a pulley 31 having a belt receiving roove38; Y Y

Located oentrally"at the front end of and attached to thelspinner 32 is a generally round circular.

; :-head 39 having an outlet orifice 40 for the yarn received from bore 33 and which is interiorly flared or recessed, at 4|, to better guide the yarn to the orifice 40. I

r As bestshown in Figure 5, orifice 40 is semi-- Across one, side thereof is a straight edgeconstituting the outer extremity of an inclined fiber engaging wall 42 of a flap or block 43 disposed in recess 4|, hinged to the head 39, at 44, and urged into the recess 4|, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, by a spring finger 45 fastened, at 46, to the head 39.

In starting operation, a piece of yarn consisting of fibers in spun relation is disposed at the bottom of the aligning trough 38 and threaded through the spinner 32, passing through bore 33, enlargement 34, recess 3|, and orifice 48. Such yarn will be spun as the spinner 32 rotates and as it emerges from the orifice 48, will be pressed against by the forward edge of wall 42, under suitable pressure regulated by spring 45, the rotation of the spinner serving to twist all fibers upon drawing thereof through the orifice. Spun yarn is indicated at Y.

It should also be mentioned that the starting piece of yarn threaded through the spinner or the yarn after sufiicient drawing and spinning is passed through an eyelet 41 mounted by a collar 48 on a reciprocatory traverse rod 49 and is then connected to a reel or bobbin 58, for winding of the latter, as will be later specifically described.

The machine may be operated from any suitable source of power; for instance, an electric motor, indicated at 5|, which, through the medium of a belt 52, traversing a pulley 53, keyed to a longitudinal shaft 54, drives the latter.

Shaft 54 is disposed at a right angle to the traverse rod 49 and is journaled in any desired number of suitable bearings like that at 55. On shaft 54, a pulley 56 is fast and it is traversed by a belt 51, also traversing the spinner pulley 31 at the groove 38 thereof, in order to rotate the spinner. I

On the forward end of the shaft 54 is a double worm 58 enmeshed with a worm wheel 59 fast on a horizontal shaft 68 suitably journaled in bearings 6|. Keyed on shaft 68 are friction rolls Hand 63. The feed belt specifically the shaft |4 associated therewith, is driven or rotated from the shaft 68 through the medium of an endless belt 64, traversing pulleys 65 and 66 on shafts 68 and I4, respectively, such belt 64 being guided and tensioned by an auxiliary pulley, as at 61. r

Removably and loosely mounted for vertical sliding in the aforesaid bearings 6|, resting on the rolls 62 and 63 for rotation on an axis parallel to that of the shaft 68, are the aforesaid bobbin or reel 58 and a similar aligned bobbin or reel 69, respectively. Such bobbins are carried by individual shafts 18 and 18', loosely joumaled in the bearings 6|, the bobbins 58 and 69, respectively, having end plates 1| and 12, overlapping the ends of the rolls 62 and 63, so that bobbins 58 and 69 are resting on and always in contact with rolls 62 and 63. Through frictional contact with rolls 62 and 63, the bobbins 58 and 69 are rotated. In this way, as bobbins 58 and 69 increase in circumference through constant addition .of yarn on the bobbins, the speed of any point on the surface of the bobbins is kept constant since it depends on speed of rotation of rollers 62 and 63. Thus, the speed of collecting the yarn by the bobbins from the spinner is constant and the number of twists per inch of the yarn is also kept constant.

On the aforesaid shaft 18, to which bobbin 69 is rigidly attached, a pinion 13 is keyed which is enmeshed with a gear wheel 14 keyed to a short shaft 15, suitably journaled at its ends in bearings 16. The teeth and meshes of pinion 13 and gear wheel 14 are of such depth as to remain the short shaft journaled at one end in the the shaft 68.

adjacent bearing 16 and at the other end in a bearing 84.

Fixed on the shaft 83 to rotate therewith is a relatively large cam wheel 85 which is generally diagonally disposed and which peripherally has a groove 86, into one end of which the traverse rod 49 extends at a dependent or roller 81, so that rotation of the cam member 85 through rotation of gear wheel 82 will reciprocate the traverse rod 49. It should be stated that traverse rod 49 is non-rotatable because of the engaged dependent 81 in groove 86, but it is also preferably non-circular in cross section as well as slidably mounted in one or more supports or bearings, as at 88.

A regulating or drag reel is provided at 89, having a shaft or trunnions 98 loosely journaled in bearings 9|. A control cord 92 wound on the reel or drum 89, passes through an eyelet 93 on down in its traverse motion at the same rateas the slowing down of the rotation of bobbin 58. This is accomplished by bobbin 69, which winds cord 92 at the same rate as bobbin 58 winds the spun yarn and thus grows in diameter at equal speed. Since pinion 13, which is keyed to the shaft 10' rigidly attached tobobbin 69, runs the train of gears which run the cam 85 that runs the distribution rod 49, the traverse speed of rod 49 naturally slows down as the bobbin 69 grows in diameter.

The parts are so constructed and timed in operation that the spun yarn produced is wound on the drum 58 evenly throughout the length thereof and in reverse directions in layers due to the reciprocation of the traverse rod 48 under motion imparted by the cam wheel 85. The cord 92 is of the same size or count as the yarn being spun at Y, and the winding occurs on both bob-- bins 50 and 69 at the same rate and to the same extent so that the rate of traverse and revolu tion or rotation of the bobbins B8 and 69 is maintained at a constant ratio so that the distribution of yarn Y on bobbin 58 is kept even.

It will be clear that the number of twists imparted to the yarn Y is regulated by the relative speed of the spinner 32 and the relative speed of The size of the yarn is governed by the length of the fibers used, the speed of the endless belt II and the capacity of the picker or grip members l8.

Various changes may be resorted to provided they fall within the spirit and scope of the invention, for instance, in Figure 7 a different or modified type of spinner is illustrated. This spinner is generally designated 32', and is mounted in the machine in the same relation as the spinner 32, in order to have the yarn Y pass through a bore 33' therein, which bore at thereceiving end is flared, as at 34', and also preferably flared at the outlet end, as at 35, although this end may be of the same diameter as the major portion of the bore and the spinner at such end have the parts 39 and 46 applied thereto, as in the spinner 32. It will be particularly noted, however, that the intermediate portion of spinner 32' is crooked ordefiected, as at 96, in order to enhance the spinning function when the spinner is rotated. This spinner 32' at one end has a head or'enlargement 91 adapted to be iournaled in a suitable bearing and at the other end has a head or enlargement 98 grooved at 93 to provide a cylindrical surface to be journaled in a suitable bearing. Such head 98 also has a groove at I00, in effect converting it into a pulley for reception of a drive belt, such as 51 in the preceding form;

In Figures 8 and 9, I have suggested another or modified form of fiber feeding mechanism,

which may be used in place of the belt II and the grippers I3 associated therewith. In this modified form, a belt II' of leather or other suitable material is trained over pulleys I2 and I3, located and functioning like those at I2 and I3, respectively, in the previous form. It will be clear that the pulleys I2 and I3 are mounted and operated in the same manner as those at I2 and'l3, respectively, in relation to the hopper I0, so that pickers I3, carried by the belt IIT, will function to feed the fibers to the spinner 32 or 32' in the same manner and relation; Such pickers or grippers I8 supplant those at I8 and each may consist of a metallic or other plate IOI, pivoted or otherwise secured as at I02 to the belt I I'. Each plate IOI has a stud or the like I03 integral or rigid therewith whose outer end is beveled or chamfered, as at I04, in order to better align the fibers for gripping. Gripper rods I05 are slidably mounted transversely of th plates and centrally and longitudinally of the studs I03 and at their outer ends have heads I06 which are urged toward the surfaces I04 in order to grip a bundle of parallel fibers, as at F. The bores or openings in which said gripper rods I05 slide are enlarged into recesses I01 intermediate their ends and in such recesses expansive coil sprin s I08 are disposed which abut an end wall of the recesses and a nut or other abutment I09 applied to the rods within the recesses. Attention is called to the fact that the rods I05 are of such length that when the heads I06 are engaged with the studs or grip fibers the rods extend inwardly beyond the inner surface of the belt I I'. As a result, when the rods I05 at their inner ends engage the pulley I3', they will be projected outwardly against the tension of the springs I08 and thus open the grippers by moving heads I06 away from surfaces I04. As the .grippers extend downwardly and forwardly in the direction of the arrow in Figure 8, they engage the bunches of fibers in the trough or hopper and as they gradually disengage the pulley I3', they close, that is, the heads I06, in combination with surfaces I04, will grip such fibers and convey them to the spinner, due to the expansion of springs I08, releasing them into the hopper 30 when the inner ends of the gripper rods I05 contact the periphery of the pulley I2, which opens the grippers and the fibers fall therefrom.

I claim as my invention:

1. In apparatus of the class described, positive- 13; driven means, two reels frictionally driven by the latter, means mounting said reels for movement radially with respect to the axis of rotation of said positively driven means, a traverse rod,-

means operable by oneof said reels to reciprocate thetraverse rod, follower eyelets on said rod, one of the eyelets being located for passage of spun yarn therethrough to one of said reels, a roll havmeans, means to rotate the reeling means and reciprocate the traverse mechanism, and drag means interconnected with the traverse mechanism to maintain the rate of traverse and revolution at a constant ratio.

3. Spinning apparatu comprising a spinner to receive fibers, reeling means to receive yarn from the spinner, a positively driven member on which the reeling means rests for rotation by friction and for sliding in a direction away from the axis of rotation of the reeling means as the winding of yarn on the latter increases, a reciprocatory traverse mechanism through which the yarn passes, means to rotate the positively driven member and reciprocate the traverse mechanism, and drag means interconnected with the traverse mechanism to maintain the rate of traverse and revolution at a constant ratio.

4. Spinning apparatus comprising a spinner to receive fibers, positively drivenimeans, two reels bodily movable to and from the axis of rotation of the driven means and-resting on the driven means and frictionally rotated thereby, a traverse rod, means to reciprocate the traverse rod,

said rod having eyes, one of said eyes being located for passage of spun yarn therethrough to one of said reels, and a drag roll having a cord thereon, said cord passing through the other eye and being connected to the other reel.

5. Spinning apparatus comprising a spinner to receive fibers-positivel driven means, tworeels resting on said driven means so as to be frictionally rotated thereby, means mountin said reels for independent sliding relatively to the axis of rotation of the driven means, a reciprocatory traverse rod interengaged with yarn passing from the spinner to one of the reels, and drag means tomaintain the rate of rotation of the positively" driven means and the rate of, traverse of said rod at a constant ratio interconnected with said traverse rod and the other reel.

6. Spinning apparatus having a rotatable spinner arranged to receive fibers, a driven shaft, roll means having a shaft, means vto drive the latter fro the driven shaft, means to drive the spinner fr m the driven shaft, reels slidable relatively to the axis of rotation of the roll means resting on and frictionally driven by the latter, a traverse rod provided with means through which spun yarn passes to one of the reels, drag means interconnected-with said rod and connected to the other reel, and means to reciprocate the traverse rod operable from the driven shaft.

7. Spinning apparatus according to claim 6 in which the last mentioned means includes a gear, a shaft for said gear, a wheel on the latter shaft having a cam groove, and said traverse rod having a part engaged in said cam groove.

VICENTE ALDABA. 

